1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates generally to sharpeners for writing or drawing implements and, more specifically, to electric sharpeners for crayons.
2. The Prior Art
Crayon or pencil sharpeners are common consumer products. Typically such devices are designed to be either portable or mounted to a surface in a fixed fashion. The configuration of conventional sharpeners provide a conical block with opposed walls defining an implement receiving channel. The walls provide sharpening edges, of either metallic or plastic composition, that extend from the base of the housing to its apex. The edges engage and shave the surface of the crayon or pencil as the implement is pressed into the opening and rotated.
In regard specifically to crayon sharpeners, the crayon is inserted downward into the conical housing and rotated against the wall edges. The tip of the crayon, formed of wax, plastic, or similar material, is shaved layer by layer into a conical form, tapering to a point. The shavings pass through openings between the wall edges into a receptacle below that can be detached and emptied when full. Electric sharpeners are designed to rotate the cutting block while the user holds the writing implement stationary against the cutting edges.
Representative of known sharpeners are the embodiments set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,857,881; 4,248,283; and 4,991,299. The cutting elements in each are of the type described above. The '881 embodiment is of note for showing a crayon carton that provides a sharpening element in one of the carton sidewalls. The shavings are collected within a separate internal compartment of the carton and emptied by opening one of the carton flaps.
The state of the art sharpeners work well and are widely accepted by their users. However, several shortcomings are attendant their use, particularly in the sharpening of crayons. In order to appreciate the shortcomings it is important to note that crayons are coloring implements formed by a molding operation into a specific point configuration of plastic or wax, to provide a coloring tip of optimal utility. The form of the tip is frustroconical, tapering downward from a inwardly stepped annular shoulder to a flat circular nose. The flat nose, wider than a point, is more suitable for coloring than a point for it enables a wider band of color to be applied with each stroke. A paper or plastic sleeve is formed to encase the crayon and is either removed by hand prior to sharpening the point or removed by the sharpener during the sharpening procedure.
The molded form of the tip created in the manufacture of the crayon is optimal for its intended use, but quickly deteriorates with use. The post manufacture sharpening of the crayon into a sharp point, as done with prior art sharpeners, however, creates a crayon tip that is inferior to that formed in the original mold. A sharp point will wear down quickly into all undesirable dull round shape. Moreover, a sharp point is much more inefficient in laying) a wide band of color with each stroke.
In addition, the paper jacket surrounding the crayon is relatively abrasive to cut when compared to the soft crayon material. Repeated use of known sharpeners against such a jacket can cause plastic cutting blades of conventional sharpeners to dull quickly. Removing the sleeve by hand can eliminate this deficiency but is inconvenient from the user's standpoint.
Another deficiency in available sharpeners, particularly electrically driven versions, is that they lack adequate user safeguards. Since the users of crayon sharpeners are young children, it is important to guard the user from contact with the cutting blades of the sharpener, both during the sharpening procedure and when the shavings receptacle is being emptied. Moreover, safeguards are needed to insure that young users will not damage the crayon sharpener by inserting into the cutting station inappropriate objects that are much harder than crayons, such as pencils or pens. Commercial sharpeners have blades that are relatively difficult to maintain or repair. Lastly, young users are more likely to use sharpeners in such a manner as to cause end portions of the crayon to break off in the cutting station. Available sharpeners neither deter such breakage nor facilitate easy removal of the broken pieces from the cutting station.